Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII, its characters, and the places in it aren't mine. They belong to Squaresoft, which is now Square-Enix. Trust me. I could NEVER make a game as cool as that.

Note: Vincent will be sort of OOC in this chapter, just a warning. If any of the other characters are, I'm sowwie…When you get done reading this chapter, review, please, review…! I even love the anonymous ones. Also sorry for the delay…writer's block is EVIL!

Special Note: The one Vincent chooses (Yuffie or Tifa) will be revealed in this chapter! The other one, Cloud gets! Actually, Cloud gets one of the two first! (No, it will NOT be yaoi.) Confused? Just…read then! THERE'S FLUFF! Also sorry if you don't like the couple but I wasn't sure which ones to pick, so I randomly chose names out of an old coffee cup like a raffle…well you don't care about that! You care about the fic! ON WITH THE FIC!

Other Note: This chapter is another chapter that switches between POV's.

Chapter 7: 24 Hours of Freedom (Vincent's POV)

When I woke up that morning, I knew that Chaos had kept his promise for the deal. How did I know this? Well, first of all, I woke up, without having any nightmares. Second of all, after I woke up I stretched my arms—something else Chaos never let me do. I also felt hungry.

But how did I know Chaos wasn't just fooling me?

I sat up on the edge of the bed, then stood up, walked over to the mirror, and…

…Smiled.

If I could smile, then I knew for sure that Chaos wasn't controlling me anymore. I could probably laugh, as well, so I chuckled, just to see. I had forgotten how deep my laugh was.

The sun came in harshly through the window, but it didn't hurt as much as it did before. When I first looked into the light, I cringed, but my eyes got used to it, unlike when that purple demon still controlled my mind.

"I wonder if the others will think I'm insane?" I muttered to myself. "Oh well…I'll at least tell one person, and they can tell everyone else if they feel like it…"

I pondered over who to tell. I wouldn't tell Cait Sith anything, and Cid and Barret were too…much like themselves to be able to tell them anything. Cloud was trustworthy but I don't think he wants to be bothered by anyone else's problems. The remaining choices were Red, Yuffie, and Tifa. I could tell Red. He was the closest thing I had to an actual friend. Yuffie might not understand it, though, and even if she did I didn't want to scare her. I didn't want to scare Tifa either, but when "I" began to behave strangely tomorrow, she at least deserved to know why, being the hostess and all. So, I'd tell Red and Tifa.

That decided, I left my room and went into the main bar room. As usual, Tifa was there…as well as Red AND Yuffie.

Coincidences happen…

"Hi Vincent," Tifa said in her usual cheerful voice. "Hungry?"

"Actually, yes," I said. Yuffie faked a gasp. I ignored her.

"Okay," the brunette woman said. "What would you like?"

"Er…doesn't matter?" I shrugged.

Tifa nodded and went back to the kitchen. Red turned to look at me with his good eye.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You're not acting like you normally do."

"I know," I replied with a shrug. "I'm acting how I want to…" Then I told him about my deal with Chaos.

"…So, today you're you you, tomorrow you're not you and then after that you're how you normally are?" the red creature summarized.

"That's pretty much it."

"I see…are you sure that was such a good idea?" he asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Chaos assured me he wouldn't kill anyone. I can always leave early," I said.

"True, but then what if Chaos comes back?"

I paused to think. "Well…then he comes back. There are seven of you and one of him. I'm pretty sure you can defend yourselves against one demon. He's not as strong as Sephiroth was."

"…If we kill him, wouldn't that kill you?" Red asked, shaking his head.

"I doubt it. He'd want to avoid the pain, so he'd crawl back into my mind and things would be normal again," I explained.

"B-but what if we keep attacking you?"

I turned my head. I hadn't realized that Yuffie was listening as well. That made me smack my head with my natural hand.

"You won't," I growled. "Why are you worrying so much, anyway?"

"We can't help it," Tifa said as she handed me my breakfast.

"Well that was easy," I muttered before I began to eat.

"Huh?" Yuffie asked, obviously confused.

"Now I don't have to explain it several times…"

For whatever reason, the others almost seemed to be avoiding me more than usual. True, it didn't matter much, and the odd glances I received let me know that they knew. It sort of made me realize how weak my mind could be without Chaos there to control it—and then I regretted my realization. Whatever the reason may be, I actually enjoyed the regret…it was self-inflicted and not caused by Chaos whispering recounts of my failures to me.

The only two people not treating me odd were Red and Tifa—I hoped Yuffie wouldn't treat me differently, but then, she always acts in strange, suspicious ways.

Even without Chaos, I wasn't much more social. I could speak to people more freely, but I'd always been a quiet person. I didn't start any conversations and my love of people didn't increase at all. So naturally, I wouldn't typically enjoy going to a place with a lot of people…though I'm always dragged along anyway…

"Tifa!" Yuffie practically shrieked, walking up to the martial arts master in an almost bouncy manner—as usual.

"Yeah?" the woman asked from behind the counter, leaving Cloud to go talk to the teenage ninja thief.

"Uh…I forgot," Yuffie muttered.

Tifa rolled her eyes and turned back to talk to Cloud.

"Wait! I remembered!" the teenage ninja announced.

The brunette bartender turned back around to face Yuffie. "Yes?"

"When are we leaving?"

"We're leaving in about…ten minutes," Tifa said.

"Huh?" I muttered.

Tifa looked at me. "Wait, I didn't tell you?"

I shook my head.

The martial artist slapped her forehead. "Ack! So forgetful! I wasn't planning on making you all stay HERE for the entire visit so we're going to the Gold Saucer…"

"Uh."

Great, I thought.
"Of course, you could just stay here if you want—"

"I'll go," I said. "I…don't mind."

Tifa smiled.

"Damn! It's &#$ noisy here," Cid muttered upon arrival, after Tifa bought the tickets.

"Isn't it always, though?" I asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Sorry, sir, this is a non-smoking place," the ticket seller told Cid when he walked past.

"&)&!" the pilot growled, throwing his cigar in the metal can the ticket lady held out for him.

"Please enjoy your stay," she said in an almost robotic tone.

I looked around the brightly colored room. I still didn't like the place much more than I did with Chaos, but it wasn't torture.

"You don't have to pick a partner, since we aren't kids," Tifa started, "but you can if you want to. Also you don't have to come back to the bar at a certain time, just whenever you feel like it since we're all not traveling on the same vehicle most likely…"

Cid didn't want to lend his Highwind airship to Tifa, since he claimed it was broken. Conveniently, in the last year the new government (which is unfortunately still Shinra people) established an airship service, taking people from their hometown to the Gold Saucer back to their hometown at the low, low price (snort) of 1,500 Gil.

And apparently most of the people didn't want to go around the place all by themselves. Cid went with Barret (they had become friends, being the only ones in the group to use profanity with almost every sentence), Red went with Cait Sith (since neither of them are human), and Cloud…

Tifa looked at Cloud with an obvious hurt in her eyes. He had paired up with Yuffie. (A/N: Cloud and Yuffie! Couple Number One!) They also appeared to be going out with each other—Cloud leaned in to give his teenager companion a quick kiss before they head off.

I glanced at Tifa, who was staring at the spot Cloud had indirectly rejected her in. "Are you alright, Tifa?" I asked softly.

She nodded, smiling weakly at me. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, shrugging. "So, wanna be my partner?"

She sure recovers quickly, I thought. "Sure, but I have to be back at Seventh Heaven before midnight."

"That's okay, we have plenty of time!"

Tifa's POV

"Having fun, Vincent?" I giggled after stepping off of the park's new roller coaster.

The ebon-haired man raised one eyebrow. "Maybe. Is this what that feeling is? I had forgotten fun…"

"Aww. Poor Vincent," I teased.

"Or maybe I'm feeling something else," he said, trying to sound mysterious.

"Like what?" I asked, playing along.

"…It could be constipation."

I burst out laughing. Was he like this all the time when Chaos let him have control, or was he just trying to cheer me up? If the latter was the case, it was definitely working!

"So, Tifa, what next?" Vincent asked.

"Um…I dunno. You choose," I shrugged.

"No, you're the hostess. You choose."

"But I chose last time!"

Vincent sighed and stared at me, his crimson eyes unblinking, his face almost set in stone.

"I'm still not choosing," I said, putting my hands on my hips. "You can't make me!"

The black-haired man's expression hardened and he walked towards me slowly, almost like you might expect a killer or a zombie to in one of those horror movies—slowly and unceasing, with a cold gaze. It was definitely a bit creepy.

"EEP! Okay, okay, I'll choose," I giggled.

Vincent smirked. "I win. So where to?"

"Um, I dunno, wanna just go get something to eat?"

Vincent's POV

The hours I spent with Tifa seemed to go by fast, too fast. I almost didn't want to admit it, but I was having fun—I even told her. When I told her, she grinned and hugged me, her head only reaching up to my chest.

"Oh, Vincent, I am too," she had said.

Yes, I was having fun. But also, the thought that tomorrow Chaos would possess me and possibly wreak havoc—what would Tifa think then? Would she hate me or would I still be the man who went to the Gold Saucer with her when who she was probably hoping to go with went with someone else? I hated the fact that this would cross my mind without the cursed purple demon residing within my head, but I suppose I was worried because…I cared about her? I haven't cared about anyone for a long time…

"It's 11:25," I whispered. "We should probably be heading back…"

"Now? It only takes five minutes to get back to Midgar," Tifa protested.

"I know, but…we might have to wait for a ride back," I reasoned.

The brunette shrugged and made no further protests.

The ride back was quiet, but that odd, comfortable sort of quiet. We boarded the airship and took our seats, then took off. There weren't many other people on the airship and I liked the quiet. I couldn't help but think about what tomorrow might be like—though Tifa broke my train of thought, probably without even realizing it.

She placed her hand on top of mine—my right hand, my good hand—as she absently gazed out the window. I didn't do anything to stop her, but her touch made me feel…odd…

The ship landed in front of Midgar and we took the train back to Sector Seven. The train ride only lasted two minutes, and by the time we got back to the bar, it was 11:32.

"I'm sorry I made you leave early," I said softly as Tifa turned the light switch on in the main bar room.

"It's okay," she said with a small smile.

"You can go back if you want to," I persisted.

"What, don't you want me here?" she said jokingly. "And this may sound silly but, I want to be with you when Chaos…you know…"

"You'll only be hurting yourself," I muttered. "But if you really want to stay, you can, I suppose."

The brunette woman smiled. "I'll stay."

I smiled at her, just a small smile, but it made her still cheeks flush crimson in the dim light. The lightbulb suddenly went out, so the only light in the room was the light of the moon and stars shining in through the windows that Tifa had opened after the electric source of light gave up on her.

"Want me to fix that?" I muttered.

"I'll have to go buy more lightbulbs," she muttered back after drawing the blinds on the last window.

The room was dimly lit, but the lack of light created a peaceful mood. Tifa's skin was pale in the moonlight, which also reflected off of her eyes slightly.

I shook myself inwardly. Snap out of it, I urged myself. Don't you know by past experience that this will never work out? She deserves so much better…

The silence between us grew large, and we didn't break eye contact.

"Vincent?" Tifa whispered.

I nodded, and didn't notice how close we were getting to each other until my hand and claw accidentally bumped her hands.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"It's okay…"

It was 11:49.

There was no space between us now, my shirt brushing against hers as we stood. My hands found their way around her waist and our lips found each other.

It was 11: 52.

A rush of blood surged throughout my body, fireworks exploding inside of my head. Tifa pressed herself against me and at the same time I pulled her closer, my claw remaining around her waist as my good hand slid up, finding its place around her shoulder. Her hands slid from their position on my chest up to around my shoulders, pulling my head closer to hers, her fingers running gently through my hair.

It was 11: 54.

I moaned slightly and nudged open her jaw, my tongue finding its way inside her mouth. Our tongues played gently with each other, our breathing became heavier, the kissing a bit harder. I nudged her tongue in a slightly forceful manner, caressing it with mine. I heard her moan softly and felt her shiver in delight.

It was 11: 59.

I cringed, my breathing becoming harder than our kissing alone made it. I pulled away abruptly, one hand on my pounding head, the other on my stomach. I crouched over, then fell to my knees.

"Vincent?" Tifa asked in panic. I looked into her eyes and saw pure concern.

"T-Tifa…I…"

Chaos would not let me say anything further. I receded into the back of my mind. My mind was like a room—my eyes were like windows in front of a control panel. Chaos pushed me out of control and took his seat. I could still see through the circular window, but I didn't want to see Tifa's fear as I fell onto my back.

"Vincent!"

Her voice echoed through my head vaguely, as if under water. I was no longer in control. Chaos turned around. "My turn," he hissed, and took total control.

The clock struck twelve.

Chaos opened my eyes, which had closed, and smirked at Tifa. "So, You're Tifa? I'm Chaos. Nice to meet you," he sneered.

Yumesuta: Whew! Long chapter! Well, what do you think? Please review! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! Comments and suggestions are loved in reviews!